More delay to nuclear power for Britain
16 November 2024
The government is delaying the use of small modular nuclear reactors in Britain. And it is not committed to support Rolls-Royce as a provider, although it is a world leader in the technology.
Engineering
Engineering
Engineering - Alstom Derby at risk
Britain’s only train factory able to design, engineer, build and test new trains, the Alstom plant at Litchurch Lane, Derby, is once again at risk, with no confirmed workload beyond next March.
Investment in sheet metal plant in Shropshire
21 October 2023
The Swiss-owned engineering company Bruderer, a manufacturer of high-speed presses, has announced investment in a new UK headquarters in Telford, Shropshire.
HS2 sabotage hits train manufacture
2 October 2023
The government is planning further cuts to the HS2 rail project. This sabotage puts engineering jobs at risk as well as undermining the transport benefits.
Rolls-Royce workers move towards action on pay
20 September 2022
Unions at aerospace and defence company Rolls-Royce are to ballot for industrial action after talks on pay broke down at the beginning of September.
The Elizabeth Line: a British working class achievement [updated]
23 May 2022
The opening of the Elizabeth Line this week is a great achievement, to be celebrated despite delays.
Future of Rolls-Royce plant at Barnoldswick finally secured
13 November 2021
Workers at the Rolls-Royce Barnoldswick have won a commitment that there will be no compulsory redundancies for five years and manufacturing will continue on the site for at least 10 years.
Barnoldswick fight goes on
National negotiations between the GMB, Unite and Rolls-Royce over the future of the Barnoldswick jet engine turbine plant are at a virtual standstill.
Long-term commitment to Barnoldswick site confirmed
24 January 2021
Rolls-Royce has confirmed its commitment to the long-term future of the Barnoldswick site by guaranteeing that it will remain as a manufacturing facility for the next ten years.
Barnoldswick strike yields 'landmark deal'
10 January 2021
Nine weeks of strike action at the Rolls-Royce factory in Barnoldswick have been suspended as the workforce considered what their union calls a “landmark deal” to secure the future of the site.
Rolls-Royce comes back for more redundancies
4 December 2020
Aerospace workers at Barnoldswick, Lancashire, who have been striking in defence of jobs, have been further hit by further proposed job losses by employer Rolls-Royce.
Rolls-Royce workers take up the fight for engineering
Rolls-Royce workers at in Lancashire are to strike for three weeks in November against the company’s plan to move production offshore.
Made in Barlick
Instead of looking abroad, Rolls-Royce would do well to follow the example of another local company, Hope Technology.
Rolls-Royce fight for British engineering
24 October 2020
Rolls-Royce workers at Barnoldswick in Lancashire are fighting to keep their jobs in Britain. They have voted overwhelmingly for action against the company’s plan to move production offshore.
Rolls-Royce: the future or the past?
6 October 2020
The future for Rolls-Royce is uncertain after massive losses this year. It plans redundancies and selling parts of the business. Unions have challenged the company’s plans, arguing for investment to create growtth.
RMT attacks decision to axe Doncaster rail refurbishment jobs
18 June 2020
The RMT union has condemned plans by American giant Wabtec to cut rail refurbishment jobs at Doncaster under the cover of Covid-19.
Engineering - Springburn anger
Springburn, in north west Glasgow, once the proud heart of the world locomotive industry, is threatened with closure.
Year-long campaign for engineering
The government has declared 2018 to be the year of engineering, a year-long campaign to tackle the engineering skills gap and widen the pool of young people who join the profession.
A year for engineering
26 April 2018
A new campaign aims to tackle the engineering skills gap and widen the pool of young people who join the profession.
Engineering training: back to the future
As the call for more resources to train engineers for Britain’s future manufacturing increases, pressure is building for more consolidated action – and a return to previous approaches to training…
Engineers demolish the Industrial Relations Act: 1971 to 1974
The first thing the 1970 Conservative government did was to introduce an anti-trade union bill. The engineering workers’ union led the opposition and finally won out in 1974, a political earthquake that shook the whole country.
City pressures hit Britain’s aero engine maker
In November Rolls-Royce announced proposals to reduce its Aerospace Division workforce by 2,600 jobs worldwide over the next 18 months.
Rail engineers suspend pay strike
14 December 2014
A planned strike at the Doncaster plant of Wabtec, where rail engineering staff were set to strike for five days from 15 to 19 December in a fight over pay and conditions, has been suspended following eleventh-hour talks with the employer.